Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Expressing gratitude ignites the light within us and is a sure path to joy. Gratitude is one of the highest vibrations of energy we can create, it's free, and anyone can give it. It can be as simple as being thankful for soup, being thankful one can see, walk, wiggle a finger, or tap to a beat. One can be grateful for happy children, good neighbors, good luck, and simply being alive. . .. Part of the journey toward joy involves not waiting around for trouble but being continuously aware of our blessings.
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Betrayal and Maverick, it is so easy to see (and feel to an extent) why you each have dreaded feelings and negative anticipations about care. Likely all of us have experienced times that were less than adequate, but your stories are extreme. Were these issues adjudicated to a much higher level, we might have professionals who actually listening and fruitfully addressed our concerns. How can anyone be so cavalier as to think they can treat everyone basically the same. Medically speaking, we are not on a conveyor line. I hope at some time in the interim, these people/Dr.'s were encouraged to see things in a better way. I hate the idea that someone, anyone, may still be suffering these things.
Overcast and possibly more rain. I think I am grateful that it isn't snow and intense cold, but since I so dislike gray days and my mood changes to reflect it quickly, I am not thrilled. Hopefully things will get at least moderately better a bit later on.
Nothing special planned since there is always something to do here. Have leftovers in the fridge that only need a couple of vegetable sides so don't have to do much for cooking. That will be nice.
I hope you all have a really good Sunday.
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(WARNING: long post due to catching up).
Raining today--but for the first time in a long time I can breathe easy, since I now have a flood-control system and the power line out to the garage is well-protected against shorting out. Before he left for a vacay in London, our landscaper put in a new weatherproof cable connecting the white lights on our backyard magnolia and the colored ones on our front white cedar--which we control with an infrared remote. Neighbors are also hanging lights (and on the next block, chipped in for lighted sidewalk arches). Will post pix when more lights are up. We're starting to haul up from the basement and assemble our pre-lit fake tree tomorrow, when I get home from PT. We gave up on Fraser firs when Heidi--who liked to roost in the tree in her youth--got big enough to make them a tip-over fire hazard. No tree-water necessary with artificial trees, and the branches are pretty realistic.
Discovered that the old Nordic Track in the attic still works (totally manual, no electronics) and has enough "ski clearance" around it. So I may dust it off and bring an iPad upstairs to stream train videos.
Lovestopaint, has your MO discussed genomic testing (OncotypeDX, MammaPrint, etc.) to determine whether you would derive benefit from chemo? It's a few pages back, but IIRC your tumor was Grade 3, Stage IIB with 4 positive nodes. I think genomically testing a sample of it would give both of you a better picture of recurrence risk. (Since the dawn of OncotypeDX, they've ratcheted the borderlines of risk--low, intermediate, high--upward a bit so that my score of 16, which at the time was considered a couple of notches below "intermediate," is now definitely "low" except in women under age 50).
There is an online tool developed in the UK (Predict Risk) as well as Lifemath.net that lets you plug in receptor status, age, stage, grade and lymph node status to determine the (ballpark guesstimate) risk of recurrence with and without AIs (for those for whom tamoxifen is no longer recommended due to age, clot risk or medication interactions) and on top of that, with and without chemo. Lifemath even provides a life expectancy guesstimate (though not taking into account other health conditions), which I suggest you ignore. Anyway, Predict said chemo would give me at most an extra 180 days, whereas Lifemath said chemo would provide no benefit at all--confirming my MO's opinion 7 years ago.
An additional factor is the recent (w/in the past year or so) discovery that adding an immune-checkpoint inhibitor like Ibrance, Verzenio or Keytruda could be a more effective alternative to chemo, when given with an AI, in "advanced" but not yet metastatic ER/PR+/HER2- bc. These drugs are expensive but covered under PartD (assuming you're on Medicare), and eligible for discount co-pay cards if you have strictly private rather than Federal insurance. Whether it's appropriate for you yet likely depends on whether "advanced" means some manifestation of Stage III.
Mavericksmom, Betrayal--I'm so sorry that the medical establishment has so grievously mistreated you.
Cindy, lovely pix. Mary, Tippy is an adorable cuddle-bunny, of whom nobody in their right mind could be afraid. Sounds like that description doesn't fit your neighbor, so it might be wise for you to carry him around her. Congrats on your sari windfall.
Petite, Happy Anniversary! May your mini-vacation be delightful.
We had a lovely (late) T-day dinner at Wildfire. We had to choose 7:15 because Gordy was working till 6:30 and two of our guests had to take a Lyft north from Oak Lawn, where they attended the dad's girlfriend's midday dinner. They couldn't seat us till all 9 of us were there, which was 7:40--and were running so far behind on reservations that they couldn't find adjacent tables of 4 & 5 till nearly 8pm, which was when they were no longer to be serving (but turned out to be the last res they'd accept---the kitchen stayed open till 10pm). They were drastically understaffed as well--including having only ONE bartender (to the chagrin of the early arrivals who wanted to hang out in the bar for drinks). By the time we were able to be served, they'd run out of mashed potatoes and pecan pie, but the substitutions we picked satisfied everyone.
I've stayed home since then, simply because there was too much to do around here. Will probably go out briefly to grocery-and-sundries-shop. Not a fan of Black Friday weekend crowds, especially not with the city's COVID transmission levels back up to "medium" (courtesy of new subvariants against which even the bivalent booster might not be effective). I made the difficult decision to RSVP regrets to the Bar Show cast party (in lieu of the show, which is in limbo till next year) this coming Sat. night--I want to stay healthy for my upcoming PT appts. and Christmas; the host's condo is on the third floor of a walk-up in a trendy neighborhood where parking is impossible and Uber/Lyft rideshares would be on "surge pricing." (For the show, I was willing to do that much stair climbing to & from my dressing room, but not for a party). Not just that, nobody would be masked--and in a crowd of at least 30 in an apt. that's an unacceptable risk for me. She even has a little stage and P.A. for those who wanted to sing their show numbers--but unmasked singing in a crowd in a small space? "The show must go on," but (for me) not like that.
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Quiet weekend for us. BFFs brought Covid back from a cruise so we took them food and ate here with their daughter and granddaughter. It may be my last year to do even though I enjoy cooking family recipes. We both were tired and Ken's was having lots of angina by the time we cleaned up.
Cut down decorating about 5 years ago. Gave our mid-size lighted tree and many ornaments to the thrift store last year. Debbie always sends us a tree made of pine branches. It's lighted and too small for ornaments. And it last forever. Ken usually makes me take it down by Valentine's Day but I enjoy keeping it up until it sheds.
Not many to buy for and Debbie always wants money. This year I am also paying for vet checks for her two cats. Will try to find something for her to open. I think I left something in her back closet when we were there but can't for the life of me remember what it is so we will both be surprised. We used to buy gifts for girls in a foster group home but this year we plan to send that money to a scholarship fund for teens transitioning out of foster care. That's consistent with the scholarship fund we set up in our son's name for kids who go to the alternative school he attended and plan further education.
I did get the few cards I send addressed this week. Skipped it for two years and figured people would think we'd dropped off the planet if I didn't get moving. Also enclosed pics of the three of us to some of our relatives.
MM and Betrayal - as a doctor's wife I am truly sad to hear about your bad experiences. A few bad apples can certainly spoil the barrel. When Ken was in practice, insurance was denying bilateral surgery but that policy has thankfully been changed (and well before 2019). Ken argued with many an insurance company, mainly unsuccessfully, when that was his patient's wish.
Kepping those of you with appointments close.
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I have a busy morning and my back started to bother me. Took Tylenol and am hoping some time in the heating pad helps to unlock the spasm. I have REIKI therapy and then a carotid artery ultrasound. It's partly sunny today, so I hope to take a walk if my back is better. Otherwise, I'll do some stretching exercises to see if that helps.
I'm sorry for those who've had bad experiences with doctors. I've had challenges with insurance companies, who like to question doctor recommendations, often delaying testing and treatment.
I hope everyone has a healthy and peaceful day.
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I truly love reading everyone's comments here! Thank you all for sharing your lives here! You all are feeling more and more like extended family to me!
taco, I too am scaling back on decorations this year. I usually hang garland on my chandelier and areas of the living room. Not this year. Reaching up is too difficult this year. I am a bit apprehensive about the Christmas tree, which is still sucking up the water from a bucket in our garage. We will probably put it up in the house this weekend. Not sure what we will do next year, but I can't worry about next year when I don't even have things figured out for this year!
Sandy, glad to hear you didn't have to fear flooding!!!! Definitely feels better when serious issues are solved! We had an in-ground oil tank. When we went to remove it and switch to propane about 5 years ago, they discovered it had leaked. Talk about stress! Results of testing went to the PA EPA and they issued strict rules for mitigating the situation. I was relieved it "only" cost us $4,000 due to clay soil, which prevented the spread, as opposed to $20,000 plus some of our neighbors had to pay! I am so glad all of that is in the past!
I was originally supposed to return to work today. Thank goodness I was given extended time. Honestly, I am not physically ready to go back to work now. I do hope I will be by the 14th, but I will see how this week goes. One day at a time.
As for the BS who lied to me, I don't know what makes me angrier, the fact that he lied to me, or the fact that he NEVER had to lie to me? Did he think I was too stupid to hear his reasoning? Did he feel he needed to protect me by doing things his way? Did he think I wasn't worth an explanation? I will never know because he passed away a year ago.
I was so upset about that on Friday when I received the letter but have since calmed down a lot. Thankfully my common sense and reasoning returned! I am NOT doubting my current doctors. I would hate to be judged by others for something someone else did. I don't want to do that to them. I am more aware and have learned from the experience and hopefully will never fall prey to that kind of situation again.
I still have a lot of concern about the lymhedema mapping and treatments because Medicare won't cover many of those procedures. We still have significant bills to pay, our kids college, a home loan, mortgage etc. We can afford those, but need our savings for emergencies, not for elective surgeries.I am not going to worry about that now. When it comes time for me to schedule the implant exchange surgery, I will go over all of it with my doctor again.
I am leaning towards retiring early, as in a few months. I need about 2 months for the paperwork to go through. I won't make a final decision until after I am back at work. Talk about de-cluttering! I have a file cabinet of things to throw out. I have a whole year of our old math program papers, worksheets, all filled out with answers etc. I am working with a math teacher this year who is doing a pilot program on a new math course that they will likely start district wide next year. Just like home, I kept things from multiple subjects "in case they would be of use someday." I don't have anything I would pass on to someone replacing me except basic supplies, so it is time to throw things out.
Time for me to get back to decorating my living room, which is taking me WAY longer than normal to complete! I also have wash to attend to.
Have a great day everyone!
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Mindfulness is being aware of yourself, others, and your surroundings in the moment. When consciously and kindly focusing awareness on life as it unfolds minute by precious minute, you are better able to savor each experience. Also, being closely attentive gives you the opportunity to change unwise or painful feelings and responses quickly. In fact, being truly present in a mindful way is an excellent stress reducer and, because of that, can be seen as consciousness conditioning, a strengthening workout for body, mind, heart, and spirit.
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Here today late and likely late tomorrow too. I envisioned a 'normal' day, but Dh was having more eye issues so I did what I could this a.m. then we jumped in the car and headed for Marion. I hoped that we could skip going later in the week. Found out too late -- he will have to go back tomorrow anyway. Grrrr !! Also have to get him to the Skin Care office to have his stiches taken out. That is what will make it a long day.
When we do get home I have things that I would have done during the day that I will have to do at last minute. Clean cat boxes, along with the screen room and get dinner. Also, more bills to pay (another chore that is usually done in daytime hrs.) Will have to clean the kitchen and do dishes after dinner.
Have to start doing Christmas cards as well and then I have some appts. (at least one in Marion coming up soon as well). Since we live in the woods, we don't do a lot of holiday decorating. Have some lights for around the house and a small artificial tree. Not sure anyone will be in the mood for it.
Hope you all have a really good day.
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On pins & needles: HK called late this evening that she had just gotten home from Hines V.A. Hosp., where her DH was admitted after finishing today's dialysis. She said "his stomach blew up" (from her description, sounds like ascites--which can happen in late-stage CKD patients) and the doctors there are having difficulty locating the source--kidneys, liver or the GIST in his stomach (which was supposed to be "indolent"). Been dreading this now for the past three years: he is in remission (NED) from a very slow early prostate cancer. But ever since the pandemic ended the possibility of a kidney transplant (the V.A. was going to fly them to IA City to do it), he's had to get dialysis every other day, and he's been getting weaker and weaker. She's at her wit's end as his caregiver, what with almost nightly "accidents" and weekly ER runs, but I know she'll be devastated--not relieved--when the end comes. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Which is why I'm on edge about my own telehealth visit with my PCP tomorrow to discuss my bloodwork. He called it "stable," MO said it was "great," and Bob says "nothing to worry about." But my glucose (fasting, not even after coffee) was 128, my liver enzymes were a bit over the edge, and my GFR was abysmal, at 48. And in Aug. I'd slipped back into borderline anemia. Seeing the slo-mo end result (above) of what T2DM can do (including kidney issues), I am not a happy camper. Puzzling that this is happening with an a1c of 5.5. And Bob drinks way more than I do (but not water) and mainlines carbs--yet all his numbers are great. "Genes," he shrugs. (His parents lived to 90 and 96; but my dad was only 72 and mom 85--she had T2DM since age 75, as did her mom. In the end, it was COPD & CHF--lungs & heart, not kidneys-- that took her down).
Meanwhile, trying to get the whole household to hydrate more, so I bought the kitties a battery-operated water fountain. Happy was wary at first but warmed up to it; but Heidi is terrified of the moving, trickling water, so she's sticking with the ancient (inherited from my grandma) enameled saucepan we've been using as a water bowl (and refilling of which each morning is doing a number on my knees & back).
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We arrived home from our Florida Thanksgiving yesterday afternoon. I'm enjoying getting back into our comfortable routine.
On Saturday our hostess, nephew's wife Angie, made reservations for a trolley trip in St. Augustine that took us all around the historic town, which was jam packed with people. DH and I visited St. Augustine years ago but I don't remember in any detail what we saw or did there. On a different day it would have been fun to get off at stops but we kept our seats on the trolley.
Afterwards we drove a few miles out of town to a seafood restaurant where I had fish tacos with mahi fish.
It was a memorable Thanksgiving with a small gathering that included dh's Aunt Doris, 90, who lives in Clearwater. The meal was catered food from Whole Foods that we warmed up. The herb dressing was especially good.
I weighed when I got up this morning and I'm up 5 lbs.
Hope everyone had a good holiday.
Sandy, my sympathy for your housekeeper.
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My mini-vacation was wonderful. The family came up to join us for lunch on Sunday. The weather was a little wet Sunday after lunch, but pleasant the rest of the time. It is good to get away and good to come home. I did try the crock pot turkey breast and found it to be awesome. I don't remember who mentioned it, but thank you and I will do it again.
Carole, I love to do the trolley's in St. Augustine, though it has been years.
Mavericksmom, Vent all you want. Cyber hugs to you.
MC, great buy!
Cindy, I enjoyed your pictures.
Sandy, ESRD is tough. Poor guy.
Illinoislady, I think you said you have to travel 70 miles to the VA. Sorry your are having to make all those trips. Hope DH will be fine. I have a Dermatologist appointment on Weds.
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Sandy, I was a lab technician. I wouldn't worry about the glucose being 128 (clearly high) if your A1C was 5.5. A1C is more reliable because it is an average over a long period of time. You can give blood samples every 15 mins for hours and come up with different values. The glucose is concerning, but most likely not a bad sign if you are already diabetic. Just watch the carbs and sugar. It totally isn't fair, I have dealt with unfair health conditions all my life, but it is what it is. I am the youngest of 5 and I used to say all my siblings took the best parts so by the time I was conceived, there wasn't much left! I would be concerned about a GFR of 48. Try to relax until you speak with your doctor tomorrow.
Oh, and sorry your kitties aren't thrilled with their new water fountain! Obviously, they didn't read the books that say cats prefer running water!
illinoislady, wow, sounds exhausting just reading about your activities yesterday, hope today is better!
Carole, glad you got home safely and you had a great Thanksgiving.
Petite, thanks for the hugs! I needed them! I saw the NP at my PCP and she is fabulous, but she wants me to see a neurologist. Long story, what I thought would be a quick non-eventful appointment turned into a long appointment that ended in a totally different direction than I had originally anticipated. I need time to digest the conversation with her, but I can't go to another specialist right now.
Sun is shinning here, I hope you all see some sun today!
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Our PCP has a new portal that has yet to work out the kinks. I received notification of a message. I had a carotid artery ultrasound and was hoping to see the results. The message said I had a new medical record. After getting kicked off three times, I finally was able to bring up the medical record. No new information in my medical record. I guess I’ll call them in the next day or two if I haven’t heard from them.
Went to Costco for my HA followup. So far, the HA are fine. Very comfortable and easy to maintain.
Medical stuff can be overwhelming. I hope everyone is doing well and has a wonderful afternoon
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HK's DH is improving a bit--turns out he's "impacted," which will require a "scut-puppy rite of passage" (i.e., a required distasteful "initiation task" for a new first-year resident or an M3-4).
My PCP isn't worried about the glucose (given the a1c), and says that better hydration should bring my creatinine (1.3) down to normal--which would also improve my GFR. According to charts, 48 puts me into stage 3a CKD--but I'm having no symptoms, my electrolytes & BP are normal, I have no edema; and the contrast portion of the MRI showed my kidneys were functioning just fine. Not taking any nephrotoxic meds, either. My anemia is extremely borderline (very slightly low Hg, normal 'crit). He ordered a new CMP, CBC and a1c for Feb. He says that all of these values have been bouncing around a narrow range since 2013 (it was as low as 40 a few years ago, but 60 in May) and nothing is really worrisome (unless better hydration fails to improve my GFR & enzymes). I went online and to my chagrin, my medically-ordered low-carb (semi-keto) diet is almost exactly the opposite of a kidney-friendly diet (except that both diets frown on battered or breaded fried foods). And the 8+ glasses of water I've been ordered to (and falling short of) to drink directly contradicts CKD recommendations. A solution is to live on bread & water--but tiny amounts of low-carb bread and not enough water. Talk about getting to the age where you can't fix what's broken without breaking something else!
My new PT is going well, although my tight piriformis acted up today as my HK & I bent over the artificial tree, inspecting connections to determine why the pre-strung LEDs refuse to light (regardless of which outlet we're using). The tree is about 8 yrs. old, so it may be out of warranty. Our handyman/landscaper/snow guy returns from London this week, so we'll see what he can do. We may just have to add a separate set of lights.
Not looking forward to Ubering it down to the Palm in the rain, but it's what Bob wants (we can't take two cars, not just because of the extra parking expense but that he'd have to drive home after drinking, a definite no-no. I always have to limit myself to two half-glasses.). He works so long and hard that I can't say no.
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No one can give a definition of the soul. But we know what it feels like.
The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that
stirs in us thoughts, hopes, and aspirations which go out to the world of
goodness, truth and beauty. The soul is a burning desire to breathe in
this world of light and never to lose it--to remain children of light.
Albert Schweitzer
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Another long day today. Had hopes for the weather which was only going to be gray. Very windy on the drive to Marion. So, we got there in time although we had to stop in town at home here and have Dh's stitches taken out from the melanoma on top of his head before we left. Since we both get weather on our devices, and both said just cloudy -- any rain would come much later -- after we were back home. When we arrived in the parking lot at the V.A. the shuttle saw us so drove right over to where we parked. Fantastic. During Dh's appt. I look out and it is pouring rain. I've no umbrella and not even the hooded jacket I often use for possible rain. Yikes.
Turns out when we were in the process of leaving the shuttle driver had just parked at the curb and was on his way in. It had briefly stopped raining and though we weren't parked all that far away the shuttle driver turned around and put us back in the shuttle to ride to our parking spot -- just in case he said. What a great guy.
Sandy, glad things don't seem quite as dire for your HK's hubby. Hope it all goes well for him. I'm also glad you have a bit more breathing room than first seemed the case. While I try not to look at it that way, I have to admit -- we don't bounce near as much when we get older, and it also seems just as we find solutions for one thing, another one goes out of kilter. I hope tomorrow will be a good day here. Hoping to do some more catch up of using two days up, way off my routine. That is another thing that is harder when we get a mite older.
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Told Bob about my results, and asked what he advises his patients; he says he follows Pfizer's advice: eGFR is just a calculation based on creatinine--and if the creatinine is <1.5, not to worry. Also, at a fasting or coffee-only glucose of 128 he would not consider a GLP-1 agonist (like Jardiance, Ozempic or the like), not even metformin--just advise ditching refined sugar, white flour/rice/potatoes, and most tropical and dried fruits. It's interesting trying to guess what will likely take me out before my bc could recur: ocular melanoma is the leading candidate, should it wake up and metastasize (there are no chemos or immunotherapies for it the way there are for skin-originating melanoma). My CV risk is still half of normal for my age, and my (alleged) CKD is partly reversible or at least its progression can be stopped. My annual bilateral mammo (now once again categorized as "routine screening" rather than diagnostic) is coming up Monday.
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Good morning. I am heading to the dermatologist for my "skin check". Hopefully she finds nothing.
Praying for all those that maybe affected by the bad weather to stay safe.
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illinoislady, you must be exhausted from the past two days. So glad you DH got his stitches out! Also, very glad you avoided the rain and had interaction with a very kind shuttle driver. One thing that always annoyed me, was when people with "high ranking" jobs would look down on those who had common jobs. I was raised that any job was worth doing well and should be appreciated and job status is not as important as one's character. Spending 32 years working in schools, I won't stand for anyone putting down what "they feel" are beneath them like custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and crossing guards. Those jobs are super important and some, like bus drivers, you couldn't pay me enough to do! I am so very thankful for them! The kindness of so many, including volunteers, in medical facilities, and in general, is truly heartwarming. Kind people warm my heart, which is why I love all of you who comment here!
Sandy, glad your DH could give you some peace of mind! I hate that the older we get, the more complex our medical issues become. I always wish I only had one medical issue instead of multiple ones, or at the very least, that they would only need attention one at a time!
My visit yesterday with the NP at my PCP's office is still making my head spin. Without going into a long story, suffice to say I have many "brain" related symptoms. Each can be attributed to something minor, but combined paint a scary picture. The thought of seeing a neurologist scares me because I am so afraid of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, so much, that I told my husband, if that ever happens, I will immediately start working on a plan to end my life if it got to a point that would mimic what my mother went through. My mom's Alzheimer's traumatized me so much, I have an extremely hard time remembering her being "normal." I keep reminding myself of two things: One, I am not my mother and even if I had a similar diagnosis, the outcome would be unique to me, and two, playing an "ostrich" and hiding my head, won't help. Also, I assume there is just as much, if not more, of a chance I don't have that condition. Of course, as a breast cancer "survivor," brain metastasis is always in the back of my mind. Honestly, far less worried about being diagnosed with brain mets!
I have an appointment with my plastic surgeon for another "fill" today at the medical center so I might stop in at a neurology group a floor below my PS's office and make an appointment.
I have a question for all here about doctors and medical appointments. Should I tell my PS about being referred to a neurologist? Of course, I always update information the nurse asks, like medications, etc, but I don't know if making an appointment with a neurologist is something he would want or need to know?
I wish everyone who has appointments this week, good results!
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I heard the rumble of thunder during the night and we had rain but there was no dangerous stormy weather here. The forecast had warned of the possibility. It's supposed to cool off but then the hot temperatures will come back by the weekend. I would like a stretch of cold winter weather but you get what nature gives you.
Jackie, I hope you get a whole series of days without trips to Marion.
Sandy, I wonder if you don't have too much medical knowledge to allow you peace of mind.
Apologies for not responding individually to every post. I read them all and react with empathy.
Does anyone else do Wordle every day?
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carolehalston - I do wordle first thing in the morning. My DH and I enjoy it.
A rainy day here. I need to do some cleaning and we’re doing laundry. DH is going to the gym to lift weights, so it’s a good time for me to do the floors. Just need to keep the cats away.
I hope everyone has a healthy and safe day
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Rainy day here with thunderstorms predicted for later today and high winds. It is in the 50's but to dip into the 30's tonight. Hate cold weather so not looking forward to the temp drop. Regan has training class tonight so we will be out in the wild weather again. She now offers both paws without prompting for a shake so I am very pleased with the progress she has made. Now if I could just keep her from jumping on me. Her nails are too long (so she rakes me) but because she never had them cut prior to joining us, the quick is at the tips and they can only shave a little off. She is not fond of the Christmas lights and barks at them when they first come on.
Getting to end of physician appointments for this year and will have last dental appointment mid-December. Mammo done last week was first of routine ones and was NED with caveat in dense breasts (which I have)....which is the CYA escape catch for the radiologists. Need to have blood work drawn for PCP who I saw today and for MO so will wait until next week for fasting blood draws.
Got bill for 5 tree removal and we knew it was going to be costly but until you write the check, it is seemingly not real. The trees cost as much as my patio refurbishment and walkway installation which was a planned expense unlike the trees which were not originally. However, feeling that we no longer have trees that could hit the house causing another 3 year debacle for restoration is wonderful. We feel safe now.
PCP office is near the Dollar Tree so I made a quick stop to pick up some organization bins of varying sizes, 2 pairs of cheap reading glasses since Regan chewed up one pair this week, some new buckets and 2 cheap dog toys. She already has tattered one by chewing off its leg and pulling out the stuffing. It will be garbage by this afternoon. Back to doing some laundry.
Hope everyone has a good day and for those seeing physicians, they get a clean bill of health.
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"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."
-- Elizabeth Kubler Ross
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petite, hope your appt. with your dermatologist goes well and finds no issues. Sandy, perhaps it is true that it is a little easier for you to feel anxiety over medical maladies (or the possibility of) due to being married to a Dr. as well as your own extensive knowledge. I've gotten to the point that I only skim on some forms of medical information to try and avoid un-wanted thoughts creeping in and causing un-due anxiety. It is hard, isn't it??? I feel I'm not real 'suggestive' but still worry sometimes that learning more possibilities keeps a door open I could likely close.
Maverick, I so VERY much agree with you. ALL jobs are important and hats off to those who undertake them for everyone's benefit. My mother was janitor for many years at my grade school. It wasn't an easy job. She got up very early in the morning and went down to the school to start roaring fires in the big furnaces, take a long walk out back to the outbuildings and re-fill the coal buckets so the teachers could add coal during the day. She did all the sweeping, and cleaning (dusting and cleaning chalk boards) and emptying trash on a daily basis. We had the summers off, but Mom would have to start (don't recall the appropriate times) early to redo the wood floors -- sanding, re-staining and waxing, them buffering them with a big handheld machine. I think she was getting about $70.00 a month for all this work.
As an aside, when I joined the army and during basic, I got one of the easiest jobs you could have. I got to operate the buffer. No one else knew how. Holding it down just so would allow it to move one direction, while raising the handle up would allow it to go the other direction allowing the great buffering motion needed. You had to have a very light hand with it, or it would all but pull you off your feet. Easy for me so the scrubbing/mopping cycles didn't concern me. I had the easiest of the jobs.
Hopefully will be able to get back on a decent meds schedule today (so far so good) and continue to catch up with things needing to sit on the back burner.
Dh not only has an allergy to something in the house, but an eyelid that doesn't close properly so he will have some surgery for it. I'm told it is a minor type of surgery although he will have to see someone in the city (St. Louis, across the river from us) since it is an eye specialty and not done by all Eye Specialists.
Carole, I do play a game of sorts on words. I think it is just called Wordplay. Spelling and knowing word definitions always generally came easy to me, but much more difficult with age and chemo in the mixture. In the game I have to choose the correct word from four that best fills in the sentence given. I do well most of the time. I'm good with some of them though only because I'm so sure of the other three not being right -- so a bit of a cheat that way.
Cardplayer, good luck with the cats and mopping floors. I can count on one hand the number of times I got through that process without at least one set of little paddy-paws showing up after the floor dried.
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Cardplayer, hope you are waking to beautifully cleaned floors! I know certain household chores are not what we want to do, but the feeling afterwards makes up for it in every way. My DS and DIL have a cleaning woman. I never wanted a stranger cleaning my house, but as I age, there are more and more things I won't be able to do myself much longer.
Betrayal, I hear you about the cost of removing trees. We had three removed years ago and it was mega bucks, but like you, safety and preventing damage to our house, both from falling on our house and preventing the roots from going into sewer system, was well worth it. Also, I had to laugh when you wrote about Regan destroying the stuffed toy. We used to show Airedale terriers and our first, Rascal, was a special sweetheart of a dog. That said, while she was very used to a crate, we didn't often use it at home. One day I came home from work to find foam objects all over the living room. My mind literally couldn't process what I was seeing. Then I saw our sofa! Yep, my sweet Airedale decided to make a "nest" and since terriers were born to dig, she did so on the sofa! Thankfully it had three cushions so I stuffed what I could back inside and turned the cushion over, but we did need to buy a new sofa soon afterwards, and we did crate her when we went out. Live and learn!
Random thought: When I was growing up, my parents always called our sofa a "davenport." Some call them sofa's some couches, but I haven't heard anyone call them a davenport in 50 years, and I wonder why? Old fashioned????
Jackie, I do hope your husband's eye isn't painful for him. I know it is his eyelid that is the issue, but wondering if that dries his eye out? I wish him a quick surgery appointment to have this resolved as soon as possible, especially with bad winter weather just around the corner.
My fill appointment with my PS's PA went really well. I had fluid in the pocket by the expander which I was not aware of and she removed over 100 cc's in addition to doing a "fill." I was surprised at how much better I felt after she removed the fluid! I never mentioned anything about my PCP recommendation to see a Neurologist to her. I am going to call and make an appointment today, but kind of hoping they can't fit me in for a long time because I am still not sure I even need to see one. Again, I have many symptoms, but each separately can be explained by very common conditions. I can't have an MRI until after I have my expander exchange anyway.
The sun is up and shinning and I am feeling more like my old self, which feels great! I ordered small Christmas gifts for my co-worker friends online and hope they like them. I am definitely telling them that I don't want anything from them when I retire. They supported me many times with their friendship, gift cards, texts, phone calls etc., when I really needed it due to breast cancer, I do not want them to feel they need to do that for my retirement. If you work in a large school like I do (over 1,000 middle school students), you know how many fundraisers they have and how often co-workers have events that require gifts. It can be burdensome, especially to those like myself, who don't make the big bucks! Friendship however, is priceless!
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The dermatologist frozen two areas on each hand for "pre-cancerous condition". She refiled my lupus rash cream and that was about it. I had two very nice ladies to talk to in the waiting room. That was pleasant. Hair cut today and some errands to run. Everyone have a pleasant day.
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I didn’t get as much floor cleaning as I hoped, but got lots done. More to do today. One of the cars did manage to puke on the part I hadn’t done yet, so that was nice. Did furniture polishing this morning. The cats followed me around, inspecting what I was doing. I managed to drop the lemon oil bottle and now it’s leaking.
Got the results of my carotid artery ultrasound. I have about 50% plaque. My PCP recommends going back on Lipitor. I had gone off after I lost weight and my cholesterol levels went down. I’ll have the ultrasound every two years just to check. Family history of heart issues, so I’m glad I had them check this out.
Sorry you have to wait for your MRI mavericksmom. I hope you can put the worry aside until you can get the testing done.
Petite - glad you got those areas on your hand taken care of before they became a problem.
Illinois - sorry your DH is having eye problems. I hope he’s able to get things resolved.
Betrayal - we had a white oak in our front yard in our previous home. It was over 80 years old. it had a split in it that we had repair, but a couple of months before we moved the town arborist took a look at the tree and said we need to take to down. One of our neighbors trees had fallen down the year before and our tree looked like it was ready to do the same. It was a beautiful tree and gave us lots of front yard shade. Costs us a lot of money, but if it had fallen it would have done considerable damage to our home.
Cold and sunny here today. Hope the winds have died down so we can walk outside. Hope everyone is doing well.Have a healthy and peaceful day.
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I looked sofa, couch, davenport a while ago. Found it again quickly. Davenport comes from a company that no longer exists. Couch is formal, sofa is informal.
My list of things to do has had "scrub tub" on it for quite some time. The easiest way of doing it is to give Tippy a shower, then me, then scrub tub. I really don't want to do it today.
I have been going to the gym daily. I think it does help me with mood issues. Tippy accepts it as routine. I pack my purse, turn on utube dog music, and he goes into the bedroom to sit on the bed. I put a treat in front of the TV and tell him to be a good boy. This morning I was slow in doing the last two steps, and he gave me a yip that always says "Mom, just go ahead and do it." (Referring also to finishing my meal so he can do his dishwashing duty.)
I just remembered that I forgot to eat breakfast.
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Our culture teaches us how to numb and distract ourselves but not how to listen to our pain and learn from our difficulties. Think what we learn about pain from television. We learn that pain is to be avoided at all costs and that there are a variety of pain relievers for every conceivable pain. I would like to see a commercial that says, "Your pain is a great teacher. Learn from it and be healed."
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Loved all the posts today, but most are on the other page. Just know that I've noted what you all said, and I think I have the appropriate feelings for everything all the others mentioned along the way. Trees (my yard sentinels in winter) are all so unique and pretty to me. Growing up we had a big cottonwood tree in our front yard, on one side and the other we had a big elm. Anyway, the cottonwood made cotton tufts (likely with seeds in them) and they blew down in our yard as well as the neighbor's next door. Tony, our neighbor was always asking my dad (jokingly) to please come get the cotton that settled in his yard because he had no use of it. Anyway, it was a silverish color tree bark, and I adored it and waited every yr. for the cotton production to begin.
Sunny today and I'm feeling fairly good. Able to get back on a realistic pill schedule. Felt like I was withering a bit -- and both days out I was unable to keep to a decent schedule, even having to go w/o some of the meds with blood pressure readings off.
It is cool and will remain like that but with sun and not too much of a breeze it will be much easier to tolerate.
I'm remaining so glad I finally got the hair-cut and went back to my old style. So much easier to deal with, just a mild comb out and shake of the head and it's all good.
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